Hiruko

Early morning

Military Police Force headquarters

The Military Police Force headquarters stood inside the Uchiha Clan compound, along with the prison.

Criminals were arrested and locked up in the same area. With the authority wielded by the Police Force and the abuse prisoners suffered in the prison, many Uchiha Police Force members had grown arrogant and domineering, acting as if they were above everyone else.

Uchiha Sanzang was handling official business in the Police Force captain's office. The Police Force adviser, Naraku, and Fugaku were beside him.

"Uncle, according to the leads, the owner of Yamato Izakaya seems to be a spy from Iwagakure. Should we send people to arrest him?" Fugaku asked Sanzang after reading the report.

"Don't alert them. Arresting an exposed spy is easy, but finding the ones still undercover is difficult. We'll follow the trail from the owner of Yamato Izakaya and slowly unravel the whole network. There's no need to rush."

Uchiha Sanzang answered without looking up.

Naraku was also reviewing various Police Force documents.

"During yesterday's patrol, the Police Force arrested three merchants. That brings the total to seventeen this month. Including those arrested earlier, dozens are now being held. Some have been detained for two months. Father, what are the standards for punishing merchants?" Naraku asked Sanzang as he read the documents.

"There are no standards. We keep them locked up until they're afraid, until they submit to the Police Force's lessons."

"What? There are no standards? Father, how can the laws enforced by the Police Force have no standards? That means its members can do whatever they want!"

For the past three years, Naraku had devoted himself to training and managing the Clan Affairs Hall. As for the Konoha Police Force, he had hardly ever shown up.

"That's how the Police Force has always been. The Second Hokage established it, and the Third Hokage approved it. What's the problem?"

"Won't this kind of Police Force make the people of Konoha afraid of us and hate us?"

Only then did Naraku truly grasp how brutal the Konoha Police Force was. It filled him with deep fear—not fear of its power, but of earning the hatred of Konoha's people.

How could the villagers and the smaller ninja clans not fear the Konoha Police Force when it behaved this way?

When people were afraid, they would naturally view the Uchiha Police Force—and the Uchiha Clan that controlled it—as enemies.

"The Uchiha Clan's glory is built on the fear of others. Naraku, once you've seen more of the world, you'll understand," Sanzang said with a smile, looking up.

In Naraku's eyes, that smile looked positively sinister.

"Father, Konohagakure is a ninja village. Have you ever considered that many of the villagers are ninjas, or come from ninja families? If the Police Force keeps acting this way, aren't you afraid all the ninjas in Konoha will turn against us?"

"Who would dare turn against us? Anyone who does, we'll throw in prison," Sanzang said dismissively.

"The Uchiha Clan is powerful, with over a thousand ninjas, Father! But Konohagakure is a ninja village, home to tens of thousands of ninjas! No matter how strong the Uchiha Clan is, it can't stand against tens of thousands of ninjas!"

Naraku had achieved excellent results in managing the Uchiha Clan and could now spare time for other matters.

So, lately, he had begun paying attention to the Police Force's affairs and had learned a little about how brutal it was.

The Uchiha crest was emblazoned on the Konoha Police Force's uniforms, and a fan was drawn on the center of its Shuriken. The Uchiha Clan's emblem was part of the Police Force's insignia.

It was practically designed to make people hate them. The Police Force was an official Konoha organization, yet anyone it had mistreated would end up hating the Uchiha.

"You're being too pessimistic." Sanzang shook his head. In the clan's living quarters, he was fairly willing to listen. But here, in the Police Force captain's office, he seemed unable to hear a word of it.

The Police Force was indeed a department many Konoha ninjas wanted to join. But it was entirely controlled by the Uchiha, and it was difficult for anyone outside the clan to get in.

Hearing Uchiha Sanzang's words, Naraku knew that unchecked arrogance always invited disaster. If the Uchiha kept acting this way, sooner or later the people of Konoha would rise up and bring them down.

"Father, I'm going to change the Police Force's ways. I'll establish proper laws and clearly define its departments and responsibilities: handling spies, patrolling and managing merchants, arresting criminal ninjas, accepting reports from villagers, managing the prison, and fighting."

"All of these responsibilities must be separated, with each department accountable for its own duties. One Police Force officer shouldn't be responsible for everything!"

"To achieve this, to properly manage the Konoha Police Force, and for the sake of the Uchiha Clan, I should be the one to lead it!" Uchiha Naraku said firmly.

"Heh. The Konoha Police Force? Here, it would be more accurate to call it the Uchiha Police Force. You want to be captain? Fine. If you can defeat me, you can have the position whenever you like."

Sanzang shook his head dismissively. His son was talented, but the captain of the Police Force had grown accustomed to being supreme. He still thought his son was too young.

"Defeat you and it's mine? You said it. I challenge you now!"

Uchiha Naraku's eyes turned red, and three Tomoe began to revolve slowly in his crimson gaze.

Fugaku, standing nearby, paid no mind to Naraku's bold words. At present, Uchiha Sanzang was the strongest Uchiha anyone knew of. He had arrested countless criminals, and no one had ever escaped his grasp.

Anyone who resisted him was plunged into Genjutsu. By the time they woke up, they were already in Konoha Prison.

"No fighting in the Military Police Building. We'll settle it tonight, son. I'll give you your chance to challenge me."

Sanzang was actually a steady man who loved his family, and he was very kind to his wife and children.

But it seemed that whenever he was in the Police Force captain's office, he turned into someone who believed he was above everyone else.

"Fine, Father. I'll go prepare, then." Naraku got up and left.

Sanzang watched him go, shook his head, and returned to his work.

"Fugaku, you'll handle Yamato Izakaya. Root them out completely. It's fine to take your time."

"Yes!"

Over the past few years, Sanzang had come to admire Fugaku. He had noticed many good qualities in him: he was steady, respected his superiors, didn't challenge authority, got along with his colleagues, and was respected by the clan.

Naraku was confident about the evening's challenge. As long as Sanzang didn't have the Mangekyō Sharingan, there was no way he could beat Naraku.

Sanzang was over forty, and although his strength had yet to decline, years of holding power had already dulled his combat experience.

His victories had come from abusing Konoha's Chunin and Genin. But wasn't it only natural for an Uchiha Jonin to subdue ninjas of that rank?

Naraku couldn't understand where his father's confidence in his own invincibility came from. He shook his head and wandered through the streets of Konoha.

Before long, he came to Ichiraku Ramen. At the sight of the famous ramen shop, Naraku smiled, lifted the curtain, and stepped inside.

"Mr. Teuchi, one bowl of ramen, please!" Teuchi was still a young man at the time, nowhere near old enough to be called an uncle.

"Coming right up. Please wait a moment."

Naraku had just sat down when someone else lifted the curtain and entered.

"One bowl of miso ramen."

The voice was soft, yet magnetic.

Naraku glanced over at the customer. He had long, flowing white hair that fell past his shoulders, and a small red mark between his brows. He wore a standard Konoha flak jacket and stood nearly 1.7 meters tall.

Naraku recognized the ninja at a glance: Hiruko, the creator of the Chimera Technique.

Keeping his expression neutral, Naraku snapped apart his chopsticks and began eating. Information about Hiruko came to mind.

"Hiruko lamented his lack of talent. After the Second Shinobi World War, he developed a forbidden technique, and the Third Hokage discovered it. The Third Hokage sent the Sannin to hunt him down.

"After escaping by sheer luck, Hiruko went into hiding near Konoha. He coveted the Sharingan, but couldn't get one from the Uchiha, so he set his sights on Kakashi.

"Hiruko's skill in developing ninjutsu and conducting research was no less than Orochimaru's. The Chimera Technique he created was a ninjutsu that could absorb others' abilities.

"It took him more than twenty years to complete it. If I provided him with funding and protection, could we work together and help him finish it in a short time?"

Thoughts raced through Naraku's mind.